1989

88

CHAIRMAN (in English):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 1989, were confirmed.

CHAIRMAN (in English):---The summer holidays are now over and I trust that you are all back rested and ready for another year of hard labour.

In this respect, I would like to say that our new Members including the ten representative members from the District Boards have now been with this Council for six months. I think that the Council's new increased membership has worked and is working well. I would like to congratulate all our new Members for the effort and constructive way in which they have gone about their task.

Also, I would like to report that the letters I have written on your behalf to the various municipal councils in Britain were on the whole well received. Many councils have written back and said that they appreciated the plight of our British citizens in Hong Kong, in view of the 1997 scenario and several councils in fact have addressed their members of the Parliament and asked them to support Hong Kong's people at this time.

During my recent trip to the United Kingdom, I also personally made several contacts and put forward the Hong Kong case to both individuals and municipal councils and I would urge Members who are likely to find themselves in Britain in the near future to make opportunities to continue with this well worth campaign and also to make use of important visitors coming to Hong Kong such as the lady MP next Monday in which I trust a large number of my colleagues will be there to support me.

The following papers were laid on the table:-

(1) Reports to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the months of July and August 1989.

1.

MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question (in English):- When will the Film Archives Report commissioned by Government be made available to the Urban Council for discussion and comment?

89

MR. LO KING-MAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE CULTURE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):--This question concerns the report of a feasibility study on the establishment of a Film Archive in Hong Kong, which was commissioned by the Municipal Services Branch of the Government Secretariat.

The Council Secretariat has recently received, in fact, a copy of the report of this possibility of a Film Archive and I am glad to confirm that this report will be referred to the appropriate Select Committee or its Sub-Committee for discussion in the near future and the involvement of the Council if at all and to what extent, this may be so, will be thoroughly examined by the appropriate body. Thank you.

MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, I did receive my copy a few days ago and I am glad my expression of interest sparked some positive response from the departments concerned. I thank the Chairman for his reply.

2. MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question (in English):— Can an approach be made to Government to have the Urban Council given the responsibility to utilize the northern part of the old Western Market as an arts and crafts centre where artists living in Hong Kong and are producing their works in Hong Kong will be able to rent space to display and offer for sale their works to the local community and to tourists?

MR. PAO PING-WING, CHAIRMAN OF THE CAPITAL WORKS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-The question asks whether Government can be approached to have the Urban Council given the responsibility to utilize the northern part of the old Western Market as an arts and crafts centre where artists living in Hong Kong and are producing their works in Hong Kong will be able to rent space to display and offer for sale their works to the local community and to tourists.

In May, I have reported to this Council about the latest proposal by the Land Development Corporation (LDC) to renovate and convert the old Western market building as a socially desirable project. I understand that the Corporation has conducted a study on the renovation and renewal of the building with assistance from architectural consultants. The Corporation has taken note of the Council's historical association with the building and has invited the Chairman of the Urban Council to chair the assessment team on the study. A selected conceptual plan has now been forwarded to the Government for consideration and the Department has earlier reminded the Government that the Council should be formally consulted by any firm proposal on the use of the Western Market building.

The suggestion by MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN to provide an arts and crafts centre in the building is certainly one of the possible uses for the building and it would be conveyed to both the LDC and the Government for consideration. However, it is relevant to note that there is no official policy of the Council on